Decongestants are medications that improve breathing when the nasal passages are swollen due to illness. Children can experience congestion for a variety of reasons, including influenza, allergies and the common cold. Pediatric decongestants can be purchased over-the-counter, but should only be used in children over the age of 2 or as directed by a health care professional. The most common drugs found in child formula decongestants are phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine.
Drops
Several decongestants can be purchased in drop form to make administration to young children convenient. Both pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine are available in drop form. AskDrSears.com suggests that drops can be used to treat children who are up to 3 years old. Children younger than 6 months should not be given this medication without the advice of a health care professional. Common side effects of pseudoephedrine include excitability, sleep problems, restlessness, tingling of the skin, mild loss of appetite and a rash, according to Drugs.com.
Liquid
Liquid pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine can be used in children over 6 months of age as long as this is stated on the label. Some decongestants come in pediatric and child formulas, which differ in potency from adult formulations. Giving an infant an adult-strength pseudoephedrine formulation can result in an overdose, which can be fatal. Side effects of liquid decongestants are typically the same as oral drops, depending on the brand and active ingredients.
Chewable Tablets
Pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine can be purchased in chewable tablet form for children over the age of 2. Similar to a chewable tablet, phenylephrine can be purchased in disintegrating tablet form. A child does not need to chew or swallow this type of medicine, but instead allow it to dissolve on the tongue. AskDrSears.com points out that one tablet can be given every four hours to children between the ages of 2 and 6 who weigh between 24 and 47 lbs.
Combination Medicines
Some over-the-counter cold and cough medicines are made with more than one active ingredient to treat different ailments. A common cold medicine may contain a decongestant combined with an antihistamine or expectorant. An antihistamine works to alleviate the body's response to an allergen, and controls symptoms like watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose and a dry cough. An expectorant helps loosen thick mucus so it can be expelled when coughing. A child should only be given medication to treat symptoms he actually has. It is best to choose a cough medicine made only with a decongestant drug when the child is suffering from nasal congestion and no other symptoms. It is quite common for a child to experience multiple symptoms that can benefit from the use of more than one drug.
